Two of a Kind
by BionicRagdoll
Summary: Takes place in the 2k3 universe. They are aged up to hold old they would be now so they're 28. A girl from our universe falls through an inter-dimensional portal to the TMNT universe and strikes up a friendship with the turtles but even in this new world she can't escape the past she's been running from. No romance. Rated T for violence and swearing.
1. Chapter 1: A Fortunate Accident

The old paved road wound out before her like a grey and yellow ribbon. Her red hair blew freely in the rushing wind. Occasionally a bug hit her in the face and left a stinging red mark. She only smiled and shook her head as the sped up around a sharp turn. This was her favorite feeling in the world, just her and her motorcycle exploring back roads and small tucked away towns that the world had forgotten. Out here alone she could be herself with pretense or expectations.

Wind rushed against her bare arms as she careened around another s-bend. It lead her to a canopied straightaway covered in flame covered leaves. She was so distracted by the beauty of the scene that she failed to realize that the road had run out. A flash of white light blinded her causing her to hit the brakes in a panic. When she could see again the trees were replaced with sky scrapers and brick apartment buildings. Dead ahead was another motorcycle. They swerved to avoid each other at the same time. The sudden motion caused her to lose control of the motorcycle and sent her skidding across the pavement. For a moment all she could to was lay there in agony and try to assess the damage. Her left arm was most definitely broken, and she could feel the extensive road rash covering her arms and legs. Wet sticky blood matted her hair to her head. With a groan she managed to sit up, her entire body protesting the action.

At the other end of the street she saw the other motorist lying face up on the pavement. She forced herself to stand up; the fact that the world was spinning turned the simple action into a herculean task, and limped over to him. As she got closer she noticed that there was something strange about the man that she had run off the road. His skin was a dark forest green, and he had what was unmistakably a shell. Her ragged breath quickened as the brain tried to process this information. It was not a man lying in the middle of the street but a man-sized turtle. She knelt beside him and check for a pulse. The slow, steady rhythm throbbed under hear fingers, reassuring her that he was still alive even if he wasn't conscious. Tucked into his belt, miraculously unharmed, was a cell phone.

Right as she was about to reach for it it began ringing. With trembling fingers she plucked it from his belt, "H-hello?"

Silence for a moment and then, "Who is this and why do you have my brother's phone?" To her surprised the voice had no hint of anger or accusation, only curiosity and concern.

She took a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself, "There was an accident. He's okay…I think. He's breathing and nothing looks broken but he's unconscious."

"Okay, just stay calm. My brothers and I will come to you. Where are you right now?" The calm assertiveness in his voice helped ease her panic.

She looked around trying to find a street sign or land mark while ignoring the pain shooting through her head. "We're at the corner of…seriously? Eastman and Laird."

"Okay," He said again, "Just stay where you are. We'll be there in just a few minutes and if Raph wakes up tell him we're on our way and to not move." Before waiting for a confirmation he hung up, leaving only dead air in her ear.

With nothing to do but wait for help she began examining Raph's injuries in and attempt to take her mind off her own. The road rash stood out against his green skin while bits of black asphalt were embedded into his plastron. On the surface none of his bones appeared broken, and she hoped that the helmet had done its job in protecting his head.

A few agonizing minutes later a large armored truck turned the corner and came to a halt behind her, blocking the narrow street and three more turtles climbed out of the vehicle. She had barely enough time to scramble out of the way before they charged to their brother's side. Don carefully removed Raph's helmet and used the small pen light in his med kit to check his pupil dilation before checking for any other serious injuries. After a few minutes of thorough examination the purple clad turtle turned to his brothers, "He's fine. The impact knocked him unconscious but he'll wake up in a couple of hours, probably feeling like he just went head to head with Shredder."

Leo's shoulder's sagged in relief, "Come on we should get him home before anyone sees us." Donnie nodded in agreement and helped get Raph into the back of the Battle Shell.

Mikey watched the two load his older brother into the back of the vehicle before he noticed another figure huddled next to the driver's side door. "Hey," he walked up to her and extended his hand, "you okay dudette?"

She looked up at him and for the first time in his life he did not see fear in a stranger's eyes, "Concussion, broken bones. Everything is spinning..." Her voice broke off as she clutched her head harder as though it would make the pain stop.

It was only then that he noticed the dark stain where her hand was that could only be blood. "Hey Don," His voiced contained a touch of fear, "Raph's going to be okay right?"

"Of course Mike. He just needs a place to lay down until he regains consciousness. Why...?" He poked his head out of the back of the truck and looked to where his little brother was pointing. "Oh." Without another word he climbed out of the Battle Shell and walked over to her. "Mind if I take a look?"

She attempted to nod her head but stopped when the pain made her vision go black. Donnie shined his flashlight into the wound on her head. "We need to get you to a hospital. Your skull could be fractured, not to mention other internal injuries." He turned to his orange masked brother. "Mikey help her in back. We'll drop her off at the nearest hospital on the way home. Then you take her motorcycle back to the lair. Leo will take Raph's."

"You got it dude." Mikey said, giving his brother a thumbs up. He knelt down next to their new friend and attempted to put his arm around her back.

To his surprise she pushed his arm away slightly. "Don't need help." She murmured as her braced herself against the side of the Battle Shell and attempted to pull herself up.

Once again a spasm went through her head and she doubled over. Instinctively Mikey reached out to catch her. "Whoa take it easy. Let me help you."

With a resigned sigh she leaned on him as he guided her to the back of the truck. "Thank you Michelangelo," The words of gratitude that escaped her lips were barely a whisper but his sharp ears still caught them.

He stared at the woman now sitting on the floor next to Raph and couldn't help but smile. Behind his purple clad brother cleared his throat, "Go on and take the bike back to the lair. I'll take good care of these two."

Mikey gave his brother a cheeky grin before bounding down the street. Don watched him in amusement before turning his attention to the two patients. "What's your name?" He asked her as he sat her down on the floor of the truck.

She leaned her head back against the cool metal, "Natalie."

Donnie gave her hand a quick squeeze, "Don't worry Natalie I'll get you to a hospital where they'll take good care of you. I just need you to stay awake until then." Without waiting for a response he climbed into the driver's seat and started the truck. There was a slight jolt as it lurched forward.

"When Raph wakes up can you tell him I'm sorry?" Her words were still strained.

Donnie gave her a small but surprised smile. "Sure."

The rest of the journey passed in silence until Don pulled up to the hospital's Emergency Room entrance. "We're here. Let me help you up."

This time Natalie didn't protest as he helped her to her feet and opened the door for her. "Thank you, and thank you brother's for me too."

"Of course," He watched her hobble through the automatic doors and up to the receptionist's desk. Satisfied that she was safe he and Raph headed home.


	2. Chapter 2

Raph woke up on the couch feeling like he'd been hit by a bus. He eased himself up and began to examine his injuries. His right arm was bandaged and there were new scrapes across his plastron. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what had happened. It had been the first warm night in months so he'd decided to take the shell cycle for a ride. He was riding past the warehouse entrance to the old lair when there was a flash of bright light, after that nothing.

He groaned in frustration as the memories failed to surface. "Good morning Raphael," His father's warm familiar voice filled his ears. "It's good to see you awake and well."

"G'morning Master Splinter." Raph mumbled in his trademark Brooklyn accent. "What happened to me last night?"

The old rat handed him a mug of hot tea which Raph took without question "According to your brothers you were in a motorcycle accident. Donatello had to take a girl named Natalie to the hospital. Her injuries were far worse than yours."

Startled Raph sat up completely and set his mug down on the coffee table. "What? How bad?"

Donatello walked up behind his brother and leaned against the back of the couch. "April and Casey checked on her this morning. She'll be fine but it's going to take a while for her injuries to heal. We're going to check on her tonight. I've got some questions I want to ask her."

"This for example." Leo joined Don and held out a flash drive in the shape of Mikey's head.

Raph took the flash drive from his brother's hand, "Well that's not something you see every day. What's on it?"

"No idea." Donnie said as he took the flash drive. "We wanted to wait until you were up so we could all look at it together."

Raph stood up carefully to not aggravate his injuries. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's check it out." He said as he headed towards the lab.

Seemingly out of nowhere Mikey popped up, "About time. You've been out for hours."

Raph shoved past his little brother, "Yeah, funny how being in an accident can do that."

"Enough you two," Leo admonished. "We've got more important things to do, like figuring out who this Natalie person is and where she came from."

The three of them crowded around Donnie's computer as he plugged in the drive, "Okay let's see what this baby has on it." Several neatly labeled folders showed up on the screen.

"TMNT Mirage Comics, TMNT Archie Comics, TMNT IDW Comics, TMNT '87 Cartoon, TMNT '03 Cartoon, TMNT 2012 Cartoon, TMNT Movies," Leo read each one aloud. "What is all this?"

Donnie clicked on the one labeled '03 cartoon. As he expected it was full of video files, all just as neatly marked as the folders. He clicked on the first one and a familiar voice came through the speakers. "My name is Leonardo, and right now my brothers and I are in massive trouble."

Everyone turned to the voice's shocked owner. "How…How is this possible?" His voice still came from the speakers creating an eerie overlay.

"I've got a theory." Donnie piped up.

Raph rolled his eyes, "Of course you do brainiac."

"Quiet Raph," Leo's sharp voice cut through the air. "What Don?"

"You guys remember when we met those other versions of ourselves and got transported to that Turtle Prime place? He said there were countless other dimensions, each with a different version of us." The purple clad turtle explained getting more animated as he went on. "What if Natalie is from a dimension where all of those versions of us exist as fictional characters? What if she accidently drove through a portal that landed her in our world?"

His brothers stared at him blankly, trying to process this information. "Dude's we've got ourselves a fan!" Mikey exclaimed. "This is so awesome! I wonder who her favorite turtle is. I bet it's me. Chicks always dig the funny one. Ow!" He rubbed the back of his head where Raph had slapped him.

Leo gave the pair another warning look which they both ignored. "Well, that would certainly explain why she wasn't scared of us. If you're right Don and she's from a different dimension then she's going to need a place to stay once she's out of the hospital."

"Why doesn't she just stay here?" All eyes turned towards Raph. "What? If she's as hurt as you guys say then she'll need help getting better and who better to help than Dr. Don? Plus it'll give us a chance to learn more about this chick and how we can get her home."

"That's…actually not a bad plan." Donnie said, sounding slightly surprised.

Leo crossed his arms across his chest and leveled a serious gaze at his three younger brothers. "We should still run it by Master Splinter first to make sure he is comfortable with -"

"There is no need Leonardo." Splinter stood in the doorway of the lab, grasping his old walking stick for support. "Raphael is right. This girl will need a place to heal and she seems to know more about us than is safe. You will extend the offer to her." He gave his sons a finally serious but proud gaze before retreating to the couch to watch his stories.

The harsh fluorescent lights blinded her as her eyes blinked open. "What…?" She struggled to prop herself up but her arm refused to cooperate. With the pain came the memories. The autumn road, the light, and the accident…She closed her eyes hoping it would block out the shame but it was no use. All her life she had dreamed of what it would be like to meet them. Now they would never want anything to do with her. Especially him, so strong, so proud, so much like her. She had ruined his precious shell cycle. Of course he wouldn't want anything to do with her.

Her gaze turned to the remote next to her. One to call the nurses, two to adjust the angle of the bed, one to pump more painkillers into her bloodstream. Her eyes lingered on the last one. She longed to forget everything that happened but she knew it would only be temporary. Harsh reality would creep back in as soon as the medication wore off. She thought of her mother, immobile, chronological liar. The woman would sell out her own child to get her fix. Natalie shuddered at the thought at threw the remote aside. It was an accident she reassured herself. She would not give into shame.

Outside twilight turned to full dark and the lights illuminated the city she'd always dreamed of seeing. The sight was magical. She closed her eyes and imagined couples going to and from romantic dates, whispering in each other's ears. Others were working late in their offices, while still more preyed on the weak. In her mind's eye she saw the beauty and the barbarity that inhabited the city.

"Do you think she's asleep?" The voice didn't belong to the nurses but it was still familiar.

"Maybe we should come back later?" Natalie was positive she knew both those voices but she'd never heard them in person before.

"When? During the day? That's a great idea. Why don't we just wake her up and see what happens?"

That was it. Her favorite voice in the world was there and she couldn't contain herself. "Stop bickering. I'm awake."

To prove her point she opened her eyes and looked at each one of the turtles without flinching. For an imperceptible moment her eyes rested on Raphael but they quickly moved on. "Good," said Leonardo, "You can tell us how you knew Michelangelo's name, and why there is videos and comics of us on your flash drive."

It took all of her will power to not be sarcastic. "I've been a fan of you four as long as I can remember." She paused briefly, letting the revelation sink in. "We had the original live action movies when I was a kid and I watched them all the time. I watched them so much my mom sold them because they got on her nerves. Then when I was twelve a new cartoon came out. I watched it every Saturday and have been…" It was embarrassing to admit but she refused to lie to the four men in front of her. "I've been obsessed ever since."

The whole world stood still as she waited for one of them to break the silence. "Dudes this is awesome! I told you we had a fan." Mikey's exuberance brought a relieved grin to her face. "Okay, I have to know. Who's your favorite turtle? It's me right?"

The smile didn't leave her face as she shook her head, ruby red hair falling in her face. "No good can come from me answering that question."

Stepping out from behind his brothers Raphael came to the forefront. "You're okay right?"

She wanted to respond but the fact that he was showing concern for her wellbeing made the words catch in her throat, "F-fine." The words came out in a stuttered, garbled mess and not for the first time Natalie wished she had a shell she could hide in.

Donatello came to the rescue, reaching for the chart that hung at the foot of her bed. "Patient was in a motor vehicle accident. She was not wearing a helmet or other protective gear. Diagnosis…" There was a slight pause as he skimmed her chart, "Concussion, skull is not fractured, broken shoulder, clavicle, humorous, and ribs. Abrasions on face, and arms."

"I've had worse." She attempted a lighthearted smile but the serious faces staring at her made it fall quickly.

"You weren't wearing a helmet?" Raph accused.

"Not even a jacket?" Leo added.

Natalie bit her tongue. She refused to lash out at them. They were only caring about her safety. The thought of someone actually caring made her tear up but she suppressed it. "It was too warm for a jacket and helmets aren't required by law where I was riding."

"You realize you could have died." There was Donnie's two cents. She'd been waiting for it.

"Yeah? What's your point?" As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them. The look of shock and pity across the turtles' faces made her shrink into herself.

Leo sat down on the edge of her bed and placed a hand on her leg. "We know you're not from here. Once the doctor's say you can leave we want you to stay with us. At least until you're better."

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the blue banded face. "Sure, sounds like a smart plan." Her gaze swept over the four brothers again, awestruck at the situation she found herself in. "I'm kind of tired. Maybe I should get some sleep."

"Of course." Donnie said, "We'll be back tomorrow to make sure you're okay."

"I appreciate it." She said with a smile. "Hey Mikey." The orange clad turtle halted at the sound of his name. "You should check out the black flash drive. There's a bunch of comics on it I'm sure you'll like."

He broke out in a wide grin, "Thanks dudette!" With a final thumbs up he disappeared out the window with the rest of his brothers.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know I just updated this last night but I didn't like how I end this chapter so I decided to change it. Sorry if this isn't as good as the other ones. Hopw you guys enjoy it anyway.

The four turtles stood just inside Natalie's hospital room staring at the empty bed. "They wouldn't have released her so early would they?" Mikey asked.

Donnie walked over to the bed and picked up the chart hanging off the edge, "No. It says here she had surgery today. Unless she signed an AMA she should be here resting."

"What the hell is an AMA?" Raph asked.

"Against Medical Advice." Donnie stated. "It's a form patients can sign if they want to leave the hospital before the doctors think they're ready to go home."

Silence filled the room as the brothers considered the possibility of an injured woman wandering around the unfamiliar city. "You don't think she'd actually do that do you Don?" Leo asked, his voice equal parts curiosity and concern.

Donnie shook his head and hung the chart back up, "I don't know. She seemed like she really didn't want to be here."

"No way." Raphael shoved his way past Mikey, "We have all her stuff and you heard the way she talked about us. There's no way she'd just leave without a word."

The other three stared at him, unsure how to respond. Out of the corner of his eye Leo saw the doorknob to the bathroom turn. Silently he alerted the other three and they melted back into the shadows.

Natalie stumbled out from behind the door, her injured arm held against her chest with crisp white bandages. Donatello waited until she had eased herself down into the bed before emerging from hiding, "What are you doing out of bed?"

She jumped and let out a small scream. "Jesus Christ Don, little warning next time would be nice." While Natalie focused on getting her heart rate down to a normal level the others came out from their hiding spaces.

Leo looked down at her with his trademark stern look that was usually reserved for Raph, "Don's right. You should be resting not walking around by yourself."

His crossed arms and disapproval were more than she could take. "Relax Leo. I don't need help taking a piss." She said matching his stare. Realizing that the challenge would serve no good she backed down. "But I'm guessing you didn't drop by to chastise me."

"No we didn't," Donnie interjected, "We think we know how to get you home." He waited for an enthusiastic response but was met with a cold stare. "The Daimyo has access to all the different dimensions, he can use his staff to help get you back to your own dimension."

Natalie raised her good hand in the air, "Or here's an idea, we could not do that."

"Wait what?" Mikey stared at her in confusion.

"You don't want to go home? What about your friends and family?" Raph asked.

The woeful look he gave her was more than Natalie could take. She averted her eyes and stared at the tile floor instead. "Trust me, no one will even notice I'm gone. Except maybe my agent who probably will assume I fell of a mountain or pissed of the wrong person and got murdered or something."

"So you've really got no one?" Leo couldn't believe what he was hearing, "No parents, not even a sibling."

Natalie's head snapped up and she flashed him a murderous look that was gone as suddenly as it came, "None that matter." She turned her attention to Donnie, "Will my staying in this dimension have any adverse effects?"

He shifted uncomfortably under her intense gaze. "I don't think so. We've been to different dimensions before and it didn't seem to do any harm."

"Great then it's settled, I stay here and you don't need to worry about sending me home. Don't worry, as soon as I'm healed I'll be out of your metaphorical hair." Natalie settled against the pillows and closed her eyes waiting for the sound of the window sliding shut.

Master Splinter sat on the floor pretending to meditate when he heard the unmistakable sound of eight feet on the stone floor. "How did she take the news my sons?"

"Not well Sensei," Leo admitted.

"Yeah, she got kind of angry and sad when we told her." Raph said.

Donnie walked over to his computer in the lab and grabbed the carabiner of flash drives and plugged in the green one. "What did she mean by only her agent would miss her?" Mikey asked.

Only paying half attention to the conversation Don opened up one of the documents and began skimming. "I know why. She's a travel writer."

"A what now?" Raph and Mikey asked together.

"A travel writer." Don said again, "She goes on trips to different places and writes about her experiences. This whole drive is full of books, notes, videos, and pictures. She must have been talking about her book agent."

In a flash Mikey was at his side reading over his shoulder, "Cool! We can read about them and learn about what things are like where she comes from. Ow!" He rubbed his head where Raph smacked him.

Natalie stared at the ceiling waiting for a nurse to hustle into her room. Right on queue an overworked and underpaid nurse rushed in. "What do you need?" The nurse asked hastily.

"I'd like to sign an AMA," Natalie stated.

"You're sure?" The nurse asked before launching into a long lecture about how imprudent signing herself out against the doctor's wishes was. Natalie didn't hear a word of it as she struggled to put on the clothes she came in with. The unlucky nurse gave in and brought in the form.

Natalie filled it out and signed at the bottom. "Thank you," She said as she handed the form back.

The nurse simply glared at her, "Will you be needing a wheelchair miss?"

"Just a crutch will be fine." Natalie requested, ignoring the nurse's scorn. She waited patiently on the bed for the nurse to return. When she did Natalie only had one question, "Where is the nearest hostel?"

April and Casey arrived the following morning. She walked up to the receptionist at the front desk, "Good morning. I'm here to see Natalie Mills."

The receptionist typed the name into the computer, "I'm sorry ma'am but Ms. Mills left last night."

April gave the secretary an indignant look, "What do you mean she left?"

With a few clicks the receptionist double checked, "I mean she signed herself out last night and walked out of those doors on her own two feet."

"Well can you at least tell us where she went?" She asked.

The receptionist shook her head, "I'm sorry but without a personal representative form I can't disclose any information regarding the patient."

"She's not just a patient!" Casey exclaimed getting right in the receptionist's face, "She a friend of ours who is wandering around this city injured, with no money, no identification, and no idea where she's going! How could you let her walk out of here in that condition? What kind of hospital is this?"

The receptionist stared back at his unfazed by his outburst. "Sir, everything was done according to protocol and if you don't calm yourself then you'll be escorted from the premises."

April noticed that two security guards were already staring at them, "Casey she's not here. Let's go just go tell the guys and see if they can help track her down." She guided him out the hospital and into the van.

Half an hour later they were standing in the lair staring at four dumbfounded faces. "She just...left? But why? Where would she go?" Leo asked.

Donnie rubbed his chin in thought before walking over to his computer, "I have an idea. She writes in her books about spending a lot of time in hostels and homeless shelters. So..." He pulled up a map of the area around the hospital on his computer, "...That's where we start looking. She can't have gone far so the ones closest to the hospital are probably out best bet."

"Great work Don," Leo praised, "So we split up and check these places out."

"What do we do when we find her?" Mikey asked.

"We figure out why she ran and then bring her back here whether she likes it or not." Raph countered forcefully, "Now what are we still standing around for?" Donnie handed each of them a list of shelters to check out and they each went their separate ways.

Warm summer air brushed across Raph's skin as he looked down at the dilapidated shelter. Every other one on his list had been a bust and he only hoped that the others were having better luck. Below the door to the alley creaked open and out stepped Natalie propelling herself forward with a crutch. He watched as she leaned against the brick wall. With one fluid motion he lept down the fire escape and landed in front of her. "So this is where you've been hiding. You know we've been looking all over the city for you."

"I'm sorry." She said, her voice barely above a whisper, "I know I shouldn't have left. It's just...I really hate hospitals. Lying there in bed drugged up and helpless." Despite the warm night she shivered.

Gently he placed his hand on her good shoulder, "Hey, I understand. After all the times I've wound up on a dissection table I'm not too fond of them either. So I'll tell you what, I won't make you go back there if you agree to come to the lair where Donnie can look after you instead."

She smiled up at him, "It's a deal."


	4. Chapter 4: Battle Born

**A/N: It took a little longer than normal to update, I went on an impromptu road trip. Anyway, here is chapter four. I highly recommend listening to Battle Born by Five Finger Death Punch while reading this chapter.**

"You ready?" Raphael asked Natalie as they stood in front of the metal door to the lair.

She couldn't suppress a smirk as she stared straight ahead, "I was born ready." With a press of a button the door slid open and Raph led her inside and for the first time in her life Natalie was speechless. On the ground floor was the dojo and Raphael's punching bag. Above them was the entertainment center and on the other side of the room was Donnie's lab. A hallway between the two led to what she assumed the bedrooms and kitchen.

Master Splinter stepped forward, "Welcome to our home Ms. Mills."

Natalie gave the best attempt at a bow that she could, "Master Splinter, it's an honor to meet you."

"The honor is mine young one. It is nice to see my sons being met the admiration rather than fear for a change. Michelangelo is particularly excited to have you with us."

Raph looked around the empty lair, "Yeah where is that knucklehead anyway? I let the guys know we were on our way home."

"I'm sure they'll be along soon my son. In the meantime why don't you show our guest where she will be staying?"

"Sure thing Sensei." Raph led Natalie into the back of the lair, "We put you next to Don's room in case you had any problems." He stopped in front of a wood door at the front of the hall and opened it. Crammed inside the room was a small bed, night stand, and dresser. In the middle of the floor were her bags. "Your bike is upstairs in the garage next to mine."

Natalie cringed at the mention of the battered machines. "Yeah about that, if there's anything I can do to help you fix yours just ask. I can't work a wrench too well right now but I can get you parts and stuff."

"Don't worry about it. Besides pounding on thugs working on the Shell Cycle is one of my favorite things." "I'm going to let you get settled in. Don will probably be in to check on you when he gets back."

Natalie sat down on the bed and slipped off her boots, placing them next to the night stand. "Thanks Raph, for everything, and I promise you don't need to worry about me leaving in the dead of night again. There's nowhere else in the multiverse I'd rather be."

He gave her a nod, "No problem, and in a house of five ninjas you couldn't sneak out of here if you wanted to." Natalie worked up a retort but he shut the door before the words could leave her mouth. As she sat on the bed marveling at her good fortune the events of the past couple days caught up with her and she flopped down on the pillows.

When Don, Leo, and Mikey returned home Raph was watching TV on the couch. "What took you guys so long?"

"Sorry Raph," said Don, "Mikey insisted on stopping for ice cream. Did you get Natalie settled in okay?"

"Yeah, and she promised to stay put this time." Raph replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Donnie nodded and walked back to her room. She was curled up in the fetal position on top of the covers. The steady rise and fall of her chest told him she was fast asleep. Careful not to wake her he backed out of the room and eased the door closed. "How is she Don?" Leo asked.

"Out like a light. I'll check on her in the morning. Right now I think she's got the right idea." He yawned for effect and headed to his own room for the night. One by one each member of the Hamato family retired to bed and a quiet calm filled the lair.

The cold seeped into Natalie's skin and she opened her eyes to find herself looking up at a bright white light. She opened her mouth to scream but water filled her lungs instead. Panic welled up inside her and she tried to swim towards the surface but the pain from her shoulder was paralyzing. The light got further away as she sank deeper until it was gone entirely and she found herself surrounded by darkness.

Natalie stifled a scream of fear and pain as she bolted upright in head. She looked around the unfamiliar room and remembered. The cold was just from the stone walls around her and the only water to be found was the sweat dripping from her face. She took a few tentative breaths, half expecting it to be unforgiving water instead of sweet oxygen. Just a dream, it was just a dream. The mantra played on repeat in her head as she changed into a pair of black pajama pants and a white camisole before getting back into bed, under the covers this time. She laid awake listening to the unfamiliar sounds of water rushing through pipes and a subway rumbling nearby. Clutching a small teddy bear to her chest she drifted off to sleep again pretending that she was hearing the soft pitter pat of rain and chirping crickets.

The next morning she trudged into the kitchen to find everyone else awake. Stifling a groan she lowered herself into a chair and gazed around the room with half closed eyes. "Morning princess. Sleep okay?" A familiar gravelly voice asked.

"Yeah peachy," She croaked.

Raph snickered at her word choice and sat down next to her. "Holy shit you look like-"

"Shit? Thanks." She looked up to see Leo putting bread in the toaster and looked on with surprised interest when it popped up unburnt without breaking the toaster. "Huh, so small appliances aren't your mortal enemy.

Leo stopped buttering his toast and turned to her, one eye brow raised, "Come again?"

Try as she might she couldn't stifle a laugh, "Sorry. It's just, for whatever reason there's this head canon that a lot of fans back home have that every time you use the toaster is breaks. I don't know how it started it's just funny."

"Wait hold up. Just how popular are we there?" Mikey asked getting right in her face.

Natalie tried to scoot her chair back but couldn't muster the strength, "Uhh, pretty big. You don't get three cartoons and five, going on six, movies without being the world's favorite mutants. You're even more popular than the X-Men, which is saying a lot."

"Hang on a second," Donnie said, "If there's so many different versions of us then how do you know which universe you're in?"

"Simple. Each version of you guys looks different and this one," She gestured around the lair with her good arm, "Was always my favorite. Just the right amount of comedy and action and the villains were more interesting, less incompetent."

Mikey snapped his fingers, heedless of the fact that he was still mere inches from Natalie, "Dudes, I've got a great idea. Why don't we have a turtle marathon?"

Raph pushed himself away from the table, "No thanks. The one time we met those shell heads from that lame ass dimension is enough for me."

"I'll watch it with you Mikey." Natalie said, squeezing herself out of her chair, "And after I can introduce you to Captain America."

Before she could take two steps towards the couch Donnie stepped in front of her. "That can wait. First, you've got an appointment with Dr. Donatello."

Natalie snorted as she allowed him to lead her to his lab, "And somewhere a thousand fangirls just swooned."

"What did you just say?"

She gave Donnie her most innocent smile, "Nothing. Lead the way doctor."

He led her to a cold, steel examination table and helped her up. "So how are you feeling?" He asked.

A withering glance in his direction gave him his answer, "I slept like shit, I feel like shit, and according to Raph I look like shit."

Don didn't give her venomous tirade the dignity of a response. Instead he pulled out a small tool that looked like an orthodontist's UV light and hovered it over her shoulder. "Your doctors did a great job pinning your shoulder back together." He moved the pen across her upper and lower arm next. "Titanium rod in the humerus, good choice. Ribs are healing nicely. Have you been taking the painkillers they gave you?"

Natalie pushed him out of the way and slid off the table, almost falling over in the process, "And we're done here." Without another word she stormed out of the lab and straight into something short and furry, "Master Splinter! Forgive me, I didn't know you were there."

The wizened rat narrowed his eyes, "No you did not. Follow me Miss Mills, there is much we need to discuss."

Her heart in her throat she followed Master Splinter to his room. He knelt down across from her, leaning heavily on his walking stick and she struggled to follow suit. Tired, black eyes bored into her, "My sons tell me that you have no wish to return to your home dimension."

"No sir, I don't." There was a finality in her voice that reminded him of his eldest son. "If my staying here will cause any trouble then I will find new accommodations."

For what felt like eons he simply stared at her. "You're welcome to stay as long as you want but you truly have no friends, no family?" There was paternal concern in his voice that he didn't bother hiding.

Natalie met his gaze with cold eyes, "I'm dead to them and they are dead to me."

Master Splinter searched for an ounce of pain or regret but only found conviction. "Very well, in that case there is another matter of great importance that I must make sure you fully understand. Your knowledge of us would prove invaluable to our enemies should they know of your existence. We would not allow you in our home if we did not trust you but your presence puts all of us, including yourself in grave danger."

Every muscle in her body tensed up. "Rest assured Master Splinter, I would sooner die than betray your family. For decades your sons have given me inspiration and strength and I owe them more than I can repay. I would not be the person I am today if it wasn't for them. If your family is willing to take the risk then so am I."

"Very well then, you may go." He watched her struggled to her feet and wondered how someone so young could be so hard.

The four brothers were waiting for her as she closed Master Splinter's door. "So how'd it go?" Leo asked, just a hint of smugness in his voice.

"It was fine." She turned to Donnie, "I'm sorry about earlier. I just have this thing about taking pain medicine. We're good right?"

Don clapped her on the shoulder. "Sure, just don't be so dramatic next time."

Mikey popped up from his spot on the couch. "So you ready for that turtle marathon?"

She looked around at her new friends and felt herself smiling for the first time in forever, "You bet."


	5. Chapter 5

Natalie's eyes slowly opened as she wondered what had happened. She had been reading a book on the couch when Donnie offered her some soup and…the soup. The empty bowl sat on the corner of the coffee table mocking her. She dragged herself into a standing position and stalked over to the lab. The guilty turtle was sitting at his computer idly scrolling through a word document while she stood in the doorway glaring. "You drugged me." She accused before he even had a chance to turn around.

He swiveled around, meeting her fiery gaze. "You were obviously in pain and anytime I even mention the medication you throw a tantrum. What choice did I have?"

"Well for starters you could have just not drugged me. This isn't the first time I've broken a bone. I know how much pain I can take and trust me I'm not even close to my threshold yet." Even as she said it the throbbing pain radiating from her shoulder threatened to bring her to her knees. Rather than give into the pain she raised her head higher. She would not be weak.

Donnie sighed and pinched his nose. "Look why don't you just tell me what your deal is and we can go from there."

Determination blazed in his eyes and Natalie knew that he wouldn't take no for answer. She leaned against the desk, ""I…I've got depression." The words came out as little more than a whisper. "Most of the time it's manageable but sometime I feel myself sinking and the more I fight the worse it gets. It leaves me feeling empty inside. There's no joy, no anger. I just feel numb. When I get like that I need to feel something, anything. Pain is a good reminder that I'm alive, not a lifeless husk going through the motions. It's gotten to the point where a part of me sees pain as cathartic. It's sick, twisted, and not at all healthy but it's better than the alternative. And then there's the whole my mom is addicted to painkillers thing."

Silence filled the lab as Donnie struggled to come up with a response. "Wow, Natalie, I'm sorry I didn't know. You don't, you know?"

"Self-harm?" She let out a humorless chuckle. "Not anymore. Well not in the traditional sense anyway. I've found healthier outlets for that. Listen if we're done here I promised Raph I'd go get parts to fix the Shell Cycle. Besides, some fresh air will do me some good." Don just nodded as she walked out the door.

Upstairs in the garage Raph was standing next to his bike making a list of the parts that he needed. Behind him the steel door slid open, "How bad is it?" Natalie asked.

A light breeze brushed across his skin as she walked up next to him. "Well, she's in better shape than you are."

She lightly swatted him on the arm, "Very funny. Is that what you need?" Her pale hand took the list from him and examined it, "You're forgetting something."

Raph snatched it back and looked over it again, "Like Hell I am. That's everything I need to get the Shell Cycle back on the road."

Once again she slipped the list out of his hands, "Nope. You definitely forgot something. Don't worry though, I got it covered."

"Whatever you say Nat. Billy's is across the park and two blocks that way." He pointed west with his green calloused hand.

The right side of her mouth lifted into a confident smirk, "Got it. I'll be back before you can even miss me."

As she stepped out of the garage she found herself blasted with heat and sunshine. "So I've been cooped up inside too long," She muttered to herself as her shoes hit the pavement in the direction that Raph had pointed to. People rushed past ignoring her existence while the brick, glass, and steel towered over her. With the skill of a lifelong city dweller she wove in and out of the crowd, squeezed through the smallest gaps and overtook the most stubborn pedestrians until she reached her destination. "Billy's Automotive" was displayed across the glass door, the faded gold letters trying to outshine the jewelry store next door. A small bell jingled, alerting the plump, frog-faced man to her presence. "Billy I presume?" She asked while she approached the counter.

"That's my name." He replied, his jovial voice echoed through the cramped and dusty shop. "What can I help you with young lady?"

She handed him the list of parts, "These, if you don't mind."

He grinned at her and she couldn't help but smile back, "Mind! Of course I don't mind. You just stay right there and old Bill will get you taken care of." Billy hustled up and down the aisles with a speed that belied his advanced age and came back a few minutes later with an armful of parts which he dumped onto the counter. "That should be everything," fat fingers punched the register's worn keys, "Which makes your total today $134.12."

Natalie reached into her back pocket and pulled two one hundred dollar bills out of the faded leather wallet, "There you go."

He took the cash and held it up to the light. "You sure these are real. They look at little funny to me."

"I promise they're legit." Natalie assured him, "If you want I can write down my name and phone number so if there's any problem with them later we can sort it out."

Billy waved his hand dismissively, "There's no need for that. You seem like a nice trustworthy gal so I'm going to take you at your word." He stacked all of the parts in a bag and handed it to her with her change, "You go on and have a nice day now."

She beamed back at him, "Thank you, you too." Holding the bag in one arm she left the dark store and stepped back out into the light. Before heading back to the lair Natalie ducked into a convenience store to grab the final item on the list.

"I can't accept this bill it's obviously a fake." The bubble gum smacking cashier insisted.

Natalie stared at her in disbelief, "Look," she sighed, "I just went through this with the guy down the street. It's real. Besides it's only ten lousy bucks. Is it really worth fighting me on this when you can just ring me up and then take care of the rest of these guys?" To emphasize her point she pointed behind her at the line of disgruntled customers that had formed.

The cashier huffed and snatched the bill of the counter. "Fine, here's your change," Coins bounced and rolled off the counter while the cashier looked at Natalie with a smug look waiting for her to pick them up.

"Keep it. Consider it a tip." Natalie replied with a smirk before waltzing out the door. Bogged down with an arm full of goods her walk back to the lair was slower giving her time to think. "It's weird that both stores thought that the cash was fake," She muttered to herself, "Maybe money looks different in this world? If that's the case then I might want to look into getting a job. I may be staying with the guys but I'll be damned if I accept charity from them." As if the gods themselves had her heard rambling words a help wanted sign appeared in the window of a bar that she was walking passed. Without hesitation she strolled in and approached the man who had hung up the sign. "Help wanted for what?"

The man jumped a little bit and spun around to face her, "Jeez, what are you some kind of ninja?"

Natalie just shrugged her shoulders, "Sometimes. So you need an extra body in this place?" She asked sizing him up. He towered over her. With broad shoulders and a chiseled face he cut a striking figure.

Rough hands ruffled his ebony hair "Yeah, my bartender walked out last night in the middle of the rush. You have experience?" He took the bags from her arm and set them on a nearby table then led her to the oak bar.

"Not officially," she admitted as she stepped behind the bar, "But I know my liquor and how to manage drunk idiots. And," She added, "I'm not the type to walk out on a job."

He stared at her expectantly, "All right. You've got my attention. Let's see what you got. Make me a mojito."

She couldn't help but snort at the command, "You get a lot of those in an Irish pub?"

"You'd be surprised," He said, "Besides I don't pull punches. I want to make sure you can pour real drinks, not just serve beer and be eye candy."

With a flourish she pulled a glass out from under the bar, "One mojito coming right up." He watched with wide eyes as she muddled, mixed, poured, and stirred like a one handed, skilled, professional. In record time she placed the glass in front of him and nodded. Cautiously he took a sip and set it down, "Well?" She asked.

"Not bad, but as you pointed out this is an Irish pub. Pour a perfect Guinness."

Natalie chuckled, "Don't pull punches huh? I could pour Guinness in my sleep." He just raised his eyebrows and gestured for her to continue.

As she held the glass at the perfect angle, hooked her other arm around the tap, straightened it out at just the right time and set it on bar he wondered if he had ever seen such a thing of beauty. "All right you've convinced me. I'll give you a test run tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll get you step up and see how you do." He stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you uh…I don't know your name."

"That's alright," She chuckled as she gave him a firm handshake, "I'm Natalie."

"Nice to meet you Natalie, I'm Grant." He let go of her hand and gestured to the sling, "Of course I am going to need a doctor's note outlining your limitations before you come in tomorrow."

"Of course," She repeated, "Thank you Grant. I'll see you tomorrow."

He watched her grab her bags and walk out, "Yeah see you tomorrow."

Back in the garage Raph was leaning against the wall absentmindedly tossing a wrench into the air and catching it, his amber eyes boring holes into the door. Going to Billy's and back shouldn't have taken her this long. New York was a dangerous city and he had let her walk into it alone, anything could have happened to her. No, he reassured himself, she was a tough chick, more than capable of handling herself.

He never should have sent her it out. She's dead in a dumpster somewhere. No, she probably just got lost or something. She's fine. The conflicting, confusing thoughts raced through his brain until he heard the garage door swing open. "Sorry I took so long. Made an unplanned stop. But," She handed him the bag of motorcycle parts, "I got everything on your list, plus that thing you forgot."

Raph took the bag from her feigning nonchalance, "Yeah? And what exactly was that?"

She set the other bag on a bench and brandished a six pack of beer, "You can't do automotive repairs without beer."

He just smiled and shook his head. Forest green collided with alabaster as he took the bottle out of her hand, "Can't argue with that, but what was your unplanned stop?"

They got to work on repairing the Shell Cycle and she filled him in on everything that had happened after leaving the lair. "So he hired me and I start tomorrow,"

The sip of beer that Raph had just taken sprayed the floor, "You what? Nat, you've only been here a week, your shoulder isn't even close to being healed. What makes you think that Donnie is going to okay this? What about this seems like a good idea?"

There was a dull clink as Natalie set her bottle on the floor and took a seat on an overturned bucket. "I just can't stand not doing something. Sitting around watching cartoons with Mikey and answering Don's questions about my dimension is fun but I have to be active. Inactivity, rest, leisure, it's not relaxing it's just maddening. It's almost as though I can literally feel life passing me by if I'm not out living it."

Raph thought back to all the times he had gone half mad spending weeks down in the lair with no one but his brother and Master Splinter for company. The silence stretched between them as he imagined her cruising down paved roads, a speeding blur of machine and independence. Then he saw her sitting on the couch in the lair reading comic books with Mikey and the way her foot was always tapping or the way her fingers were always fiddling with the nearest object at hand. How hard it must be, to go from having the whole world as your home to having to stay in one spot. "You know what you're right," He said after eons of speechlessness, "Answer me this though. Do you regret it?"

Visions of the friends that she had made and lost among her travels. Gandalf, the bearded pot head that taught her how to survive in the woods. Icarus, who taught her the secrets of the desert. Ian, she hadn't talked to him years. She would never see any of them again. At last the significance of her decision begin to hit her. Long buried feelings of loss and regret began to bubble back to the surface but she shoved them back down giving no quarter. "No," The words dropped out of her mouth with the weight of a sledgehammer, "I have no regrets. No regrets." Deep in her heart she knew she would never see any of them again no matter what dimension she was in. She would just have to come to terms with that.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning steam filled the bathroom as Natalie stepped out of the shower and grabbed a nearby towel, wrapping it around her body. With a swipe of her hand she wiped the fog on the mirror and examined her reflection. New skin and dried scabs covered most of her still useless arm. The bruises on her chest and face had turned yellow-green but it wasn't the injuries that she was focused on. Peeking out from the top of her scalp were traitorous blonde roots. Her natural blue eyes narrowed in disgust and she stalked back to her room. Inside the austere room she dug through her rucksack attempting to find two small boxes amongst all her worldly possessions. Buried at he in the bottom was exactly what she was looking for. A half hour and another shower later a woman with red-gold hair and hazel eyes stared back at her. No longer filled with self-loathing she walked out of the bathroom a brand new person.

Mikey popped up in front of her and she let out a small cry of surprise, "So Dudette, you ready for some more Justice League?"

The right side of her mouth rose into a smirk, "Sure thing dude." The two nerds settled on the couch together and switched on the game console.

Across the room Leonardo leaned against a column and stared at her with narrowed eyes. "Is something troubling you my son?"

Leo turned around to face his father, "I don't trust her sensei."

The gentle pressure of Master Splinter's hand on his arm turned him back towards the living room. On the couch Natalie was educating Mikey on the differences between the comics and the cartoons, her hands emphasizing her words, and then something he couldn't hear made them both burst out laughing. "You were as eager to let her into our home as any of your brothers. What has changed?"

"Letting her stay here was the right thing to do," Leo admitted, "She was hurt with nowhere to go and with everything that she knows about us it would have been irresponsible to not take her in. But we know so little about her. She's hiding something Sensei, I know it."

"Patience my son," Master Splinter counseled, "I believe that all will be revealed in time."

Natalie opened the door while still trying to figure out what would be the most appropriate thing to wear for her first day at work. All of her muscles tightened and she felt the all too familiar anger well up inside her when she noticed that there was an intruder. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

Leo turned around brandishing an old photograph, "Following a hunch. So tell me, who are you really?"

She snatched the picture out of his hand, "I'm exactly who I said I was and if I have secrets that's none of your business."

With one step he was in front of her, staring her down with his best menacing glare. "It is my business when you're in my home, and a threat to my family."

She looked back up at him, face twisted into a fierce scowl, "I am not a threat. I'd lay down my life for you and your brothers, despite whatever ridiculous ideas you have in your head."

"Ahem," The sound of a throat clearing made them both turn to find Donnie standing just outside. "Am I interrupting something?"

Natalie returned her gaze back to Leo, "No he was just leaving." He pushed past her without a word.

Donnie stepped inside, looking behind him at where Leo had just been. "What was that about?"

"Nothing. You needed something?"

"Uhh yeah," He stammered, "I just wanted to go over the details of your work restrictions."

She took the doctors note and he watched her eyes dart back and forth across the page. "No lifting anything with my left arm, that's fair. No lifting anything over five pounds with my right hand, okay don't want to over exert it. No standing for long periods of time?" Natalie looked back up at him in disbelief, "Come on Donnie that's ridiculous."

"You're lucky I'm authorizing you to work at all. It's not just your shoulder you hurt you know."

"Believe me Donnie I know. It's impossible not to, but I know my limits better than you do. I promise not to lift anything heavy but I need to be able to stand for my whole shift."

He looked back at her trying to think of a compromise but couldn't get past her stubborn expression, "Fine but promise me you'll take it easy. Pushing yourself is only going to make your recovery take longer."

Her stubborn smirk turned serious, "I know. I promise not to push myself harder than I have to, wouldn't want to pull those stiches."

"You'd better not or I'll make you sew yourself up."

Natalie gave him a mock salute, "Yes sir."

"Smartass," Don muttered as he left.

In the living area he found Leo lounged in a chair reading a book while nearby Raph and Mikey played a video game. "Okay Leo what the hell was that about in here?" He asked pointing to Natalie's room.

His outburst got the attention of all of his brothers. "What are you talking about Don?" Mikey asked.

"Leo was just in Natalie's room and from what I saw they were fighting about something. So go ahead Leo, explain."

The eldest turtle put down his book with a sigh, "I've had a bad feeling about her since she showed up, like there's something she wasn't telling us and I was right." He showed them the picture he had pilfered from her room while Donnie had her distracted. Two identical blonde hair, blue eyed girls sat at on porch steps holding bottles of soda and grinning at the camera.

"So she's got a twin, big deal." Mikey said.

Wordlessly Leo turned the photograph over to reveal a description on the back, "Samantha and Natasha, '02. Whoever that girl in there is" He said pointing to Natalie's room, "She is not Natalie Mills. She's lied about her name, and changed her appearance. Clearly she's running from something, or someone."

Silence descended over the group as they thought about his revelation. "There's gotta be an explanation," Raph finally said.

"The evidence is right there Raph, accept it. She is not who she says she is and we need to find out what she's hiding."

Around the corner Natalie hid in the shadows eavesdropping. Fear made the blood in her veins run cold. She leaned against the wall in an attempt to steady herself. Taking deep quiet breaths she slowed her heart rate and assured herself that for once the fear was groundless. Schooling her face into an impartial mask she stepped into the light. "Well guys I'm off. I'll be back later tonight," Without a look back she exited the lair and left them to their fruitless mission. A cold breeze whipped past when she stepped outside and she pulled her jacket tighter. As she headed towards McDonough's she tried her best not limp.

Back down in the lair the four turtles stood frozen in the living, staring at the door that Natalie just walked through. "Do you think she heard us?" Mikey asked.

"I don't know," Donnie replied, "But I'm still not liking this plan. Yeah she's abrasive and introverted but should we really be betraying her trust like this? We'd be furious if she went through our stuff."

Leo held up his hands defensively, "I understand where you're coming from Don but don't you want to know exactly who Natalie is? Who we've let into our home? She knows everything about us and we know nothing about her."

Don looked up at his brother's firm gaze knowing that once Leo made up his mind there was no changing it. "It still doesn't feel right," he protested.

"You two do what you want but I'm not taking part in this crackpot plan of yours." Raph walked out of the room, anger charging his muscles with restless energy. Out of habit he found himself pummeling his worn out punching bag. She wasn't lying to them. All of his instincts told him that she was telling the truth, that they could trust her. He didn't know how he knew but he would bet his Sais that his brothers were wrong. There was an explanation and he was going to figure it out.

Early afternoon sunlight and a warm spring wind followed Natalie into the pub where she saw Grant getting it ready to open for business. "What's on the docket today boss?"

Once again he jumped at her sudden presence, knocking over a stool in the process. "Seriously would it kill you to make noise when you enter a room?"

She just gave a nonchalant shrug, "It might actually. Still doesn't answer my question though. What do you need me to do first?"

There was a dull thud as he set the fallen stool upright, "First thing you need to do is fill out a W-4 tax form. You may have worked under the table at other places but here it's by the book."

"I'm probably going to need help with that. I've never actually filled one out before." Natalie said with a sheepish grimace.

Grant cocked his eyebrow at her but rather than making a comment he pulled the tax form and a pen out of his pocket and set it down on the table in front of them. "It's simple," he assured her, "In the first section just document if anyone can claim you as a dependent or if anyone is dependent on you."

He watched as she wrote "1" in Box A, "Nope."

"Okay, next section even easier. Just put your name, social, address, and marital status."

The pen froze over the paper and for the briefest moment Grant thought he saw a flash of fear in her eyes. With a trembling hand she filled out the information and signed it, praying to the gods that her doppelganger in this dimension had the same social security number as her. "There. Done. Can I do some real work now?"

"Yeah sure," Grant said. He showed her how to finish getting the bar ready for the day all the while hoping that she wouldn't be as brusque with the customers as she was with him.

When the customers filtered in his fears proved unfounded. He watched her in-between his own customers and watched as she adjusted her demeanor depending on the customers' moods. For the angry, maligned blue collar workers she let them vent, getting indignant on their behalf when necessary. She let down the wannabe Romeos easy; assuring each one that if circumstances were different she would go out with them. One man even cried on her shoulder after he revealed that his wife had left him and taken the kids. He had to admit that each of her customers left feeling better than they had coming in and he wondered where she picked up those impressive people skills.

"So what happened to your arm?" It was the third time that night Natalie had been asked that question but Grant still looked over, wondering what story she would weave this time.

Natalie slid the beer over to her patron, "Well you see I was rock climbing this weekend when my gear failed. I fell into the bottom of a ravine." She suppressed a smirk as her audience's jaw dropped in horror. "So there I was laying in the snow with a broken arm, no cell phone service, and no way out. I must've been there twelve hours, watching the sun get lower and the forest get darker. Off in the distance I hear the coyotes howling and I thought for sure I was going to be their next meal. Then, like a gift from the gods a hunter happened to hear my calls for help. He called the park rangers who got me out."

"Wow…" was all the response that her customer could manage. He managed to shake himself from his trance and handed her a fist full of dollars, "You are either a great storyteller or one heck of a woman, either way you deserve a good tip for makin' my night."

Natalie flashed him her most dazzling and grateful smile, "Aww thank you sir. You have a great night."

"You too darlin'." He shuffled out of the bar and into the night.

She turned around to see Grant leaning against the bar next to her, "So far you've broken up a mugging, jumped out of a burning building, and now rock climbing accident. What really happened?" He asked, ticking each story off on his fingers.

Before she could answer another customer flagged her down, "Sorry Grant, duty calls."

She had been on her feet for a full eight hours, refusing to even take a break when she felt a tap on her shoulder. After handing of the beer she just poured she turned around to see Grant looking down at her. "What's up boss?"

"You did great work tonight, for a cripple." Playfulness sparkled in his eyes, "Amanda is here to relieve you so go home and get some rest." He handed her share from the tip jar, "See you tomorrow."

Natalie pocketed the money, internally smiling at the evidence of her hard work. "Yeah see you tomorrow."

She went out the back entrance through the kitchen, instinctively looking up to the rooftop across the alley. For the first time in her life a turtle shaped shadow looked down at her. She gave him a nod of acknowledgement before heading back to the lair. They hadn't made it more than a block when two thugs armed with switchblades stepped out of the alley and into Natalie's path. "Here's how this works, you give us your money and we let you walk away unharmed."

Natalie shot Raph a quick glance and gave him an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Understanding her meaning he took a step back from the ledge where he had been ready to pounce on the two lowlifes. "No. Here's how this is going to go. You turn around and walk away right now and I don't send you to the hospital." After years of practice her body automatically shifted into her preferred fighting stance. She swept her right leg in front, pulled her left leg back, turned her body so she was almost perpendicular to her enemies, giving them a smaller target to hit, and bending at the knees so that they would have a harder time knocking her off balance. Her right hand was held up in front of her half open so that she could switch from open to closed hand strikes with the necessary speed.

The thug with the purple Mohawk turned to his partner, "Aww would you look at that Johnny, the little injured birdie thinks she can fight." Johnny pulled out a length of chain and twirled it around in front of him while Mohawk produced a lead pipe from his sleeve.

All of the frustration and restlessness that had been building for the last week exploded as she felt the chain wrap around her arm. She grabbed onto the length of chain that stretched between her and Johnny and pulled with all her might. Once he was in range she swept out her right leg and sent him crashing to the ground. She heard him soundlessly gasping for air and knew from experience that with the wind knocked out of him it would be at least a solid minute before he was back on his feet. With a cry of rage for his fallen comrade Mohawk lunged towards her and his improvised weapon came crashing down onto her left shoulder. The empty street echoed with her scream of pain as she fell to her knees. Natalie looked up to see him towering over her with a conceited grin. "Fine," she spat, "That's how you wanna play? Let's play." From out of nowhere a dagger appeared in her hand and she drove it deep into her enemy's leg, twisting it for added effect. He crumpled from the pain, bringing them eye level with each other. Natalie managed to drag herself to her feet and it was her turn to look down. "Never underestimate your opponent," She advised before driving her fist into his face, The feeling of cartilage shattering beneath her hand told her that she had certainly broken his nose, and possibly his eye socket as well.

Satisfied that neither of them were a threat Natalie stumbled into the alley. Before she could collapse a strong pair of arms grabbed her by the waist and set her on the ground with practiced care. "Thanks Raph," She said, turning to lean against the brick wall behind her.

"Taking those scumbags on by yourself was pretty stupid." He chastised while inspecting the fresh bruising on her arm.

The smell of decaying garbage mingled with fresh spring air as she breathed deeply. "Yeah I know. I've just been on my own for so long I'm not used to someone having my back. Sorry" Raph refused to make eye contact, instead he focused on the newest damage to her shoulder . Unable to stand the silence she tried a new approach, "Nothing I told you was a lie."

That got his attention, "You heard?"

"Yeah, I heard," She said, "It's fine. If I was in Leo's position I'd be suspicious too. But my name really is Natalie. I changed legally it seven years ago when I left home to disassociate myself from my family as much as possible."

"And the other girl in the picture?" Raph asked, finally looking her in the eye and saw that they had become clouded a murderous anger and he wondered if that's what his brother's saw in his eyes when he snapped.

A loud bang echoed through the alley as she struck the dumpster, taking solace in the pain that traveled up her arm, "My twin sister Samantha, grade A sociopath whose sole purpose in life is to make me miserable. Anything that brought me joy or made me feel loved she stole, and if she couldn't steal it she'd destroy it."

"That's why you left home, to get away from her." He tried to meet her gaze again but she turned away almost in shame.

"And why I haven't stopped running since. I didn't dare get attached to anyone or any place. I was too afraid she'd find me, and ruin my life again." Natalie's voiced dropped to a whisper, "I'm still afraid. Even though she's a dimension away all of my instincts are telling me to run, to not get close to you guys because if I do she'll still find a way to take you away too and you're too important, your whole family. I can't…" Tears threatened to spill over and she bit her lip in an attempt to remain in control.

With a deep shaky breath she pushed her emotions back down, even as she felt Raph pull her into a gentle hug. "Hey it's okay to cry. You don't have to be strong all the time."

He felt her entire body stiffen, "Yes I do. I cannot show weakness." Even as she said it the gnawing feeling in her heart urged her to give in to the pain. All the years of loneliness and anger threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted to let it all out, cry on his shoulder and just once allow herself to be weak but the walls that she had spent a lifetime building would not crumble so easily. Instead she hugged him back and allowed herself to take comfort in the fact that for the first time ever she had someone who cared. It wasn't much but it was a start.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N I just wanted to thank everyone for being so patient with the long hiatus between updates and give a special shout out to Faith, Katmar1994 (bonus points because she favorited it too), and tmntCupcakefan for taking the time to leave a review. A huge thank you as well to Hamato Sakura for following this story and to cynderdragoner, and wolfzero7 for adding it to your favorites. Knowing that you guys are as invested in this story as I am motivates me to keep going.**

 **Faith: You brought up an excellent idea about introducing the Daimyo and while I don't plan for him to appear in this story I am fleshing out ideas for a sequel where he will feature heavily along with Usagi.**

 **If anyone has any suggestions, requests, or feedback please do not hesitate to let me know. I'll also be going through the chapters in the next few days correcting spelling and grammatical errors.**

The sound of shattering glass in the kitchen alerted Natalie to the fact that something was wrong. With a groan she climbed out of bed and went to investigate. Pale moonlight filled the room, reflecting off the broken glass that was now scattered across the floor. Fear began to rise up her throat like bile as she turned her attention to the masked man in front of her. The black clad intruder raised his gun and pointed it straight at her chest. She opened her mouth to try to scream but nothing came out. Her mind was yelling at her to run, fight, do anything but her body had shut down. All she could do was stand there helplessly and wait for death. Pure, unadulterated terror filled her and the last thing she heard was the deafening crack of the gunshot.

Natalie jolted awake clutching her aching chest. Another nightmare. Another cursed nightmare. Drenched in a cold sweat she slipped through the living room and up into the garage. With the flick of a switch clean fluorescent light filled the room. Tucked in the corner next to the Shell Cycle was her own pride and joy.

Natalie opened the cabinet under Raph's workbench and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a rocks glass. She poured herself a generous drink and took her customary seat on the overturned bucket between the two motorcycles. "Hey Jacq. Don't worry you're almost done. Just a little bit longer and you'll be better than the day I got you." Her delicate fingers traced down the mint green tank and across the worn black leather seat. "Dad promised you would take me great places, some place I could be free. Nice to know that's one promise he could keep." Outside the garage she could hear the cacophony of cars, sirens, and shouting but the silence inside the garage was maddening. On the workbench near by she spied her cellphone. She reached for it and hit play on a random song. A soft and eerie melody echoed from the speakers and Natalie began to sing along softly, "The burning desire to live and roam free. It shines in the dark and it grows within me. You're holding my hand but you don't understand so where I am going, you wont be in the end."

"Couldn't sleep?" Donatello's calm voice jolted her back to reality.

She turned to face him and shrugged. "'Nother nightmare. Don't worry," She held up her half empty glass, "I'm already taking care of it. What are you doing up? Working on a project or something?"

He crossed the garage and leaned up against the Battle Shell. "Same reason as you apparently."

"Well I'm not surprised," She said, "That amount of horrifying bullshit you guys have gone through it's amazing you're all as well adjusted as you are." Natalie gave him a sympathetic look. "Do you want to talk about it?"

With a sigh he sat down on the ground beside her, "Sometimes it's about the Shredder and how we almost died on his spaceship. Other times Bishop is about to dissect one of my brothers and I can't stop him. When I wake up I can still hear Mikey screaming over the rotary saw carving through his..." His voice broke and he had to take a deep breath before he could continue. "Most of the time though it's about when Draco and the Ultimate Ninja sent as to those different dimensions. The one I was in, where Shredder had one. I sent my brothers to their deaths. What kind of brother does that? Every night I watch them die all over again."

He felt Natalie's cool hand squeeze his shoulder while silent tears ran down his cheeks "They don't know do they? About what happened there?" Wordlessly he shook his head. "I'm sorry."

Seconds turned into minutes as they sat there seeking each other's silent comfort. "What are your nightmares about?" He finally said at last.

Beside him he felt Natalie stiffen and push herself up. He watched as she poured another drink and down it in one swallow. "I'm dying." She said with her back turned to him, "The method is always different but the end result is the same. Like you I'm helpless to do anything about it. I want to fight back or run but I'm just frozen even though on the inside I'm screaming. Sometimes the nightmare doesn't end when I wake up. My mind is awake, my eyes are open but I still can't move. I can feel something in the room, hunting, stalking me, and even in the real world I can't do anything about it. Now I feel a little selfish after hearing yours. Maybe if I had someone to lose that's what I'd dream about too."

Done knew he should let that last comment slide but he couldn't help himself. "You've got people to lose now. Master Splinter, my brothers, me."

She gave him a wan smile, "Too true Einstein. You guys are the closest thing to family I've ever had."

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room. "Your nightmares, you get them every night?" She only nodded. "I sleep right next door. How come I never heard you?"

"The first time I remember having a nightmare as a kid I woke up screaming and ran into my parent's room. My dad tried to comfort me. I remember," Her voice took on a wistful tone, "he stroked my hair and told me that no monsters were going to get past him. He would protect me from the bad things. It was just starting to work when Mom pushed him out of the way, he cracked his head against the dresser and just went limp, then she began to beat me for waking her up. By the time she was done I wished the monsters had gotten me instead. I never went to them for comfort again."

Donnie sat there in stunned silence. He remembered when he and his brothers had nightmares as kids. Master Splinter was always there to soothe them. He had never once complained of all the times that they had run into his room in the middle of the night screaming and crying incoherently. Don tried to imagine Splinter hitting them outside of training and couldn't. How could a parent do that to their own child?

Natalie downed one last drink before turning back to him, "I'm gonna go back to bed. Thanks for the talk."

"You're welcome," As he watched her walk back to the lair he wondered if he should have tried to comfort her. She was always so closed off and strong that he didn't know how she would react. Would she withdraw deeper into herself or would it open the floodgates? As much as he hated unanswered questions he knew that there was nothing he could do about it right now. A yawned escaped him and he decided that she had had the right idea and headed back to bed himself.

The next morning when Don woke up Natalie and Mikey were already hogging the couch. Credits were rolling on the TV and recognized it as an episode of their cartoon. The next episode began to play and Don watched the look of confusion spread across Mikey's face, "Hold up." His youngest brother said, "Where's the episode with Donnie and the dimension Ultimate Draco sent him to?"

He couldn't see Natalie's face but he saw her shoulders shrug, "They never made one I guess. One of those lost episode type deals. No one knows why."

"Aww man," Mikey complained, "He never told us what world he got sent to and I thought I was finally going to find out."

"Dunno what to tell you dude. The episode doesn't exist." She slapped Mikey on the knee, "C'mon why don't you show me how to make eggs."

Donnie watched as they walked into the kitchen, she glanced back and gave him a quick wink. The promise of food lured Don into the kitchen as well. Master Splinter was already at the table nursing a cup of green tea. Remembering last night he wrapped his father in a hug. "Thank you Sensei for all that you've done for us. You're a great dad."

After he released Master Splinter from his embrace the old rat turned to look at him. "I do not know what has brought this on Donatello, but it has always been my privilege to be your father. No man, or rat, could ask for better sons."

In the corner of his eye Don saw Natalie stop whisking the eggs, the faintest hint of a tear lingered at the corner of her eye. She caught his eye for just a moment but turned away.

His last to brothers burst into the kitchen, "Yo what's for breakfast?" Raph asked his voice still thick with fatigue.

Natalie turned too him whisk still in hand, "It's supposed to be scrambled eggs but I make no promises."

Mikey threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, "Don't sell yourself short dudette. I'll make a proper cook out of you yet."

"How did you live on your own for so long without learning to how to cook?" Leo asked.

Natalie poured the soon to be scrambled eggs into the waiting pan. "Have you read my work? I eat out all the time. My definition of cooking is pouring hot water over anything with 'instant' in the name. I may be good at a lot of things but cooking is not one of them." She turned back to the stove to make sure breakfast didn't burn, doing her to best to fold them gently over each other.

"Don't sweat it," Mikey said, peeping over her shoulder, "You're doing fine so far. I'd just turn the heat up a couple of notches though." Dutifully she turned the stove dial up two notches, her eyes never leaving the pan. "You know even if you burn them I'm sure Raph will still eat them." He skidded over to the kitchen table and gave his bleary eyed elder brother a noogie, "Raphie boy has no taste when it comes to fine cuisine."

Raph shoved him off with a glare but said nothing. Instead he turned to Natalie who was dividing the fluffy, unburnt eggs onto five plates, "What are you working tonight?"

She strode over to the table and handed him a plate. "Three to three, so don't wait up."

 _I'm going to and you can't stop me_ said the look he gave her. Raph had made sure that he was there to walk her home every night since her attempted mugging.

"I don't need your protection." She said, poking him in the plastron.

With a smirk he shoved her hand away and began shoveling eggs into his face. "These 'er good." He said with his mouth full.

She gave the other five members of the Hamato clan a pleading look.

"Forget it Natalie," Don piped up, "Arguing with Raph is like arguing with a rock, or Leo, either way you're not going to win."

There was no amusement in her eyes when she turned back to Raph, "I'm serious Raph. I don't need you to walk me home."

The sound of his chair clattering to the floor made the entire room freeze, "The first night you went out you almost got mugged!"

"Yeah and I put both those bastards in the hospital with literally one arm. I can take care of myself."

"And I'm sayin' ya don't have to."

Electricity filled the air between them until Natalie caved, "Fine do whatever the hell you want. I'm going to bed." She stalked off to her room and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "asshole."

It took most of her self control to not slam the door behind her. Hands shaking she poured herself three fingers of whiskey and downed it in one swallow before collapsing on the bed. Her eyes burned from fatigue but sleep would not come. She closed her eyes and tried to tell herself a story but her mind kept wandering to unpleasant places she had sworn to never think of. Another drink burned down her throat in a vain attempt to drown the past. Down the hall she heard Raphael's door slam and she winced at the unbidden memory it brought forth.

Years ago, in another city, another dimension, another door slammed. Once again she was seven years old. Her mother was sitting on the couch, crying into a bottle of Bacardi, miscellaneous pills spread out over the coffee table. Samantha was staring at the door, angry silent tears running down her face. Natalie's tiny feet guided her to the door. She threw it open and saw her dad getting on to his motorcycle, a duffel bag strapped to the passenger seat. "Daddy, don't leave!" The hot pavement burned her feet as she ran towards him. He stopped, hand hovering over the throttle. Try as she might she couldn't stop the tears from spilling over and she looked down at the ground so he wouldn't see.

"Natasha." He wrapped her in a hug, "I can't stay. Your mother is just...too much for me to handle."

She wiped the tears away and looked up at him with those wide blue eyes that always got her what she wanted, "Then take me with you."

A sad smile ghosted across his face, "I wish I could sweetheart but you need your mother. It wouldn't be right to separate you from her, or your sister."

"I hate them." She pouted and kicked at the ground.

"Don't say that. They're your family, you should love them." He put both hands on her shoulders, "Look at me Natasha." Like a good daughter she obeyed, "I know your mom has a lot of issues and Sam's not always nice but you're strong. My big strong girl, and one day you're going to grow up into a strong woman. One day you'll understand that this is for the best." He pulled her into one last hug, and when he pulled away his own cheeks were wet, "I love you, never ever forget that." The motorcycle roared to life and she could only watch her father drive away, knowing that she'd never see him again.

The memory shattered the same time her glass hit the wall. With tear filled eyes she looked from her empty hand to the pile on the floor. Mentally and emotionally exhausted she fell back onto the bed and slipped into another fitful sleep.

Hours later her alarm and she got out of bed with a grumble. Half asleep she stumbled to the bathroom for a shower, only vaguely aware of several pairs of eyes following her with a mixture of concern and curiosity. When she emerged, fully dressed in a plain black tank top and jean shorts, she spied Raphael on the couch watching the news with Leo. A part of her wanted to talk to him, apologize for her behavior but her feet continued moving forward with a mind of their own and she left the lair without a word.

The clock on Donatello's computer read 2:45 AM when he came out of his self-imposed trance and heard the telltale sounds of Raphael pounding away at his punching bag. "Shouldn't you be getting ready to meet Natalie. She gets out in a few minutes."

Without looking up the brother replied, "She didn't want me to walk her home so I won't. I know where I'm not wanted."

"Suit yourself." Don replied before heading to bed.

Raph continued with his workout until he saw it was almost four. _Where is she? There's no way it takes her this long to walk home._ He started to head for the surface to look for her when he heard movement upstairs in the garage. "Natalie?" He rushed upstairs to find her hunched over the sink pulling glass and gravel out of her hands with a set of tweezers, a first aid kit laid out on the table next to her. "What the hell happened?"

In her reflection one eye was swollen shut and a bubble of coagulated blood clung to her lip, "You were right and I'm an idiot." She replied, voice dripping with venom.

"Natalie," His voice quavered with the effort of trying to keep his temper in check, "Who did this to you?"

"Remember those assholes that jumped me a few weeks ago? Same guys, 'cept this time they brought friends." Pouring alcohol over her wounds Natalie hissed as it burned away any signs of infection. "Fuck that hurts."

"And here I thought you were a good fighter," He joked to ease both their worries.

More alcohol and another wince, "I am but six on one is a bit much, even for me. Sorry I'm not a ninja master like you."

A few swipes with a wet wash cloth got rid of most of the blood and dirt on her face, revealing the motley of bruises that now decorated her face. "Think they'll come back?" Raph asked,

"Probably," She replied, still refusing to look at him, "They said I hadn't seen the last of them. Apparently they weren't too happy that I beat up two of their guys. Said they wanted to teach me a lesson. Someone should have told them I never was a good student." With a hiss she applied a butterfly bandage to a cut above her eyebrow.

Raph's intense amber eyes bored into her and he noticed that it made her shift uncomfortably. For a moment he was reminded of how he felt when humans looked at him like he was a bug under a microscope. "Sounds like these bastards are the ones that need some schooling."

"Wait, what?" By the time his words registered and she turned around all that was left of his presence was taillights.

New York's streets were almost empty at this time of night and Raph made it to his target in record time. The Pit was a notorious gang bar. If anyone knew about Natalie's attack they would be here; no doubt one of them was bragging about beating up an unarmed girl. Hidden in the shadows next to the dumpster he waited for one of the patrons to step out for a smoke. Each minute that ticked by eroded his patience further and he had to remind himself why he was there. Over the past seven weeks there is no doubt that Natalie had grown closer to his whole family. Even Leo had grown to trust her once he heard her story. He thought of the hours they had spent bonding over motorcycles and swapping outrageous tales. He was here to protect her, his little sister. Sister. It hadn't occurred to him until now but it seemed fitting. The sound of the metal door creaking alerted him to the fact that he was no longer alone.

The drunkard had barely put on foot into the alley before Raph had him pressed against the wall snarling in the the man's face. "I-I know you." The man stuttered, "You're one of them karate frog dudes who beat up criminals."

"Ninja turtle," Raphael spat, "I know you too," his nose shriveled in disgust as the man soiled himself in fear. "An hour ago a young woman was assaulted outside McDonough's. Six weeks ago you and another prick tried to mug her."

"Yeah I remember. The bitch had it coming for stabbing me in the thigh. We had to teach her not to mess with the Brims."

Raph felt his famous temper rise and before he knew what has happening Nat's mugger was on the ground, hands over his face. "Let's get this straight. You tell all of your friends that that girl is off limits. No one hurts her, no one even bothers her. If I found out that the Brims or any other gang in this city, don't comply I will personally track down everyone of you and break every bone in every one of your pathetic bodies." For added effect he twisted Mohawk's wrist until the bones snapped under his hand. "That's two. Know how many bones there are in the human body?" Speechless with fear Mohawk shook his head, "Two hundred and six. You still have two hundred and four intact. Leave her alone and it stays that way. Now get out of my sight, and spread the word." Raph threw the man out into the street, confident that he had gotten his message across and headed home.

To his surprise Natalie was still up, sitting on her bucket with a glass of whiskey. "What are you still doing up?" He asked.

"I was worried," The way she said it sounded like it was a surprise to her, "You left so suddenly I was worried I had done something wrong."

Her almost childlike tone tugged at his heartstrings and he found himself kneeling down in front of her, "No. I was just making sure that no lowlife in this city ever bothered you again."

Out of nowhere Natalie burst into tears before quickly suppressing them. "Sorry. It's just, you're the first one that has ever stood up for me. It really, really means a lot."

"Anytime Nat. Anytime."


End file.
